Reflections of a traditional boatbuilder

Mike Atfield is a traditional wooden boatbuilder who worked on Island Street in Salcombe in Devon for 55 years. We filmed him during his retirement year in 2017 as he built his last boat to make a documentary called ‘Up Against It’ about Mike and his wife, Jean, and their life in the local community. The film will be available to stream online in 2020, and it will also be screened at a charity event to raise money for the RNLI. Mike has so many stories about living and working in Salcombe, and I had the pleasure of spending some more time with him recording these. We are delighted to be able to start sharing these stories with you.